


outside your window

by kantele



Series: Grindeldore one-shots [22]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Boys In Love, Caretaking, Dragon Pox, Fever, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Nausea, Sickfic, Summer of 1899, im sure everyone can guess what this was inspired by, so sweet you'll get diabetes, stay inside wash your hands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:39:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23493961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kantele/pseuds/kantele
Summary: Albus gets the dragon pox and has to be quarantined in his room. That, of course, doesn't prevent Gellert from sitting outside his window and keeping him company. Sickfic, boys in love, first kiss, what more do you need?ALSO, STAY INSIDE AND WASH YOUR HANDS
Relationships: Albus Dumbledore/Gellert Grindelwald
Series: Grindeldore one-shots [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1208013
Comments: 10
Kudos: 122





	outside your window

**Author's Note:**

> stay safe, stay inside.
> 
> some fluffy sickfic for these trying times

When Albus woke up one morning with his head pounding and feeling less than energetic, he thought nothing much of it. Spending as many hours reading and doing research as he did, it tended to lead to bouts of intense headaches, and his irregular sleep schedule often meant that he did not get enough rest. And if he felt warmer than usual, he paid no notice to it, for the summer had been oppressively hot. It was only when he was performing his morning absolutions that he realised something was not right.

As he was stepping out of the shower, he noticed something green between his toes. Startled, he sat down on the seat of the water closet and examined his toes more closely. Pulling his toes apart, he peered at the skin in between them. A green rash was covering the skin. Now concerned, he put his leg down and brought the back of his hand to his forehead. His skin was hot to the touch. Rushing to the mirror, he turned his head this way and that, inspecting his skin for pockmarks. To his relief, his skin was clear, if not redder than usual from the fever.

His relief was interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Hurry up, will you? I have to go feed Wilma,” Aberforth said from behind the door, his voice sounding rough with sleep and irritation.

Albus walked to the door, holding it closed by the handle just in case Aberforth got it in his head to try and get in. “Aberforth, I need you to take Ariana and go over to Professor Bagshot’s house for a few days.”

There was a small pause.

“What? Why?” Aberforth asked, with what Albus thought was an unwarranted amount of suspicion in his voice.

“It seems that I have contracted the dragon pox.” Before Aberforth could do much else than let out a loud curse, Albus hurried to add, “Don’t worry, it’s only a mild case, but I need you and Ariana out of the house just in case.”

“Yeah, alright,” Aberforth muttered. There was a moment’s silence. “Will you be alright?”

Albus smiled slightly. “Yes, I’ll be fine.”

Aberforth hesitated for a moment before his footsteps receded.

“Wait!” Albus shouted as something occurred to him. The footsteps stopped. “I don’t know how I got infected, please make sure that Gellert is fine and that they make sure to clean anything he has touched.”

“I got it,” Aberforth said gruffly. He then gave a small snort.

“What?” Albus asked.

“Nothing. Just that I guess you spending all your time with that twat was good for something after all. Can’t infect Ariana when you’re never here after all,” Aberforth muttered, and his voice carried the same tone of resentment as it had all summer; Albus was getting rather tired of hearing it.

Aberforth’s footsteps receded down the hallway, and into Ariana’s room. Sometime later Albus could hear two sets of footsteps going down the stairs before a door opened and closed, and Albus was left alone in the house. Only then did Albus open the door and go downstairs to get some food that he ate unenthusiastically before returning to his room.

Ten minutes later, the owl Gellert usually used delivered a short note.

_The bastard is fine. Stop worrying. Eat something. – Abe_

Albus sighed in relief, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off his chest.

The rest of Albus’ morning was spent in his room looking through the research he and Gellert had managed to do on blood magic before his illness. He felt irritated that they would have to pause for the duration of his illness, but he could not risk infecting anyone else. Even though a cure had been developed, the dragon pox in its more developed form could still be lethal.

He gave a sudden sneeze and sparks flew out of his nostrils and onto the papers.

Albus hastily slammed them on the table upside down, before they could catch fire. After a moment, he turned the paper around and inspected the damage. Thankfully, it wasn’t that bad, only a few spots dark with soot had appeared. Sighing, he put the papers down again and leaned back in his chair, lifting his hand to his nose and pinching it, trying to get rid of his infernal headache.

He almost fell off his chair when a knock sounded by his window. Startled, he looked up. Gellert was sitting on the windowsill behind the glass, waving at him cheerfully. When he saw Albus looking, he winked. For the first time, Albus was thankful for his illness; his fever would hide the blush that had risen onto his cheeks.

Carefully wrapping a blanket around himself, Albus walked to the window.

“You shouldn’t have come,” Albus said loudly, hoping Gellert would hear him through the glass.

“And leave you to suffer in boredom alone? I think not,” Gellert answered, his voice muffled but audible through the window.

Albus smiled, feeling warm at the thought that Gellert would want to spend time with him even when he was ill.

“I doubt I’ll be good company,” Albus said.

“You could never bore me,” Gellert said, his voice sincere. His mismatched eyes shone with a warmth that was very different from the cool amusement they usually displayed.

Albus’ heart fluttered in his chest. He opened his mouth to respond when he felt a sneeze building up. He tried to hold it in, but his nose betrayed him, and soon huge sparks flew from his nostrils and hit the window. Chagrined, Albus gave Gellert an embarrassed smile.

After a moment’s surprise, Gellert threw back his head and laughed so hard he almost dropped off the windowsill. Albus’ embarrassed smile became more amused, but he did not laugh. Instead, he admired the brightness of Gellert’s smile, the deep sound of his laughter and the way his golden curls shone in the sunlight as if strands of spun gold.

That first afternoon they spent talking through the window, continuing to develop their theories on blood magic and speculating on the possible location of the Hallows. At one-point, Albus fell asleep. He woke momentarily when he felt a cool cloth gently passing over his heated skin. He thought that he could see Gellert from behind the window, guiding the cloth with his hands. But when he came to full awareness, Albus wasn’t certain it had happened at all.

At dinnertime, Gellert had rushed home to fetch them some food, which he passed to Albus with the help of a spell, but Albus felt he had little appetite. Eventually, he did eat a few cold cuts and crackers after Gellert persuaded him. After they had eaten, Albus felt exhaustion overcome him. Gellert noticed straight away, and told him to go to bed, but not before promising to come back tomorrow. Albus smiled at him gratefully and told him goodnight. With a last wink, Gellert was gone, and Albus went to bed, his heart feeling very full.

* * *

The next morning Albus was worse. The headache and fever were now accompanied by an upset stomach, which meant that Albus spent the first thirty minutes after his waking with his head in the porcelain seat. Once his stomach finally settled a little, Albus went back into his room. As soon as he opened the door, he noticed Gellert perching on the windowsill; with his hair messy and his cloak fluttering in the wind outside, it made him resemble some large, exotic species of bird.

Gellert smirked as he noticed him, but his smile changed into a frown as he took note of Albus’ wan appearance.

“Nausea?”

Albus nodded his head which caused a sharp twinge of pain. Grimacing, he went to sit on his bed. He looked up as he heard the window opening. “What are you doing?” he asked sharply.

“I’m just opening it a little so you can hear me better. It’ll be alright as long as you stay there, and I stay here, right?”

Hesitating, Albus gave a small nod. He did want to keep hearing Gellert’s voice.

“I thought that you would be worse today, so I thought that I would read to you.”

Albus felt additional warmth rising to his cheeks. Settling under his cover, he said in a quiet voice, “I would like that.”

From this angle, Albus could see only Gellert’s profile, but he could still spot the pleased smile that rose on his face. Seeing it warmed him. He did not know how he had deserved Gellert’s friendship, but he knew he could not bear to lose it.

There was a faint rustling of the pages before Gellert cleared his throat and started to read. “There were once three brothers who were travelling along a lonely, winding road at twilight —”

“Really?” Albus asked, amused, but quieted down when Gellert shushed him. Leaning back on his pillows, he closed his eyes and let Gellert’s clear voice wash over him. Gellert was a great reader, pausing at all the right places, and creating the story so vividly with his voice that Albus could almost see it happening in front of him.

Gellert was halfway through the second story when Albus felt another bout of nausea overcome him. Leaning over his bed, he emptied the feeble contents of his stomach into his chamber pot. It felt like it took ages before his stomach settled down. Finally, it was over. He spat into the bowl, wringing his nose at the smell, and hoping it would not trigger another spell.

He startled as something touched his shoulder. He turned to look. Gellert had stopped reading and had conjured a goblet and water, which were now floating next to Albus. Grateful, Albus took a sip of the water, before swirling it on his mouth and then spitting it into the pot. He then drank the rest of it, trying to soothe his irritated throat.

“Thank you,” Albus said quietly when he finished. He felt somewhat embarrassed that Gellert was seeing him in this state. “That can’t have been pleasant to hear,” he apologised.

“Don’t apologise. It’s not your fault you are ill. And I knew what I was getting myself in for. Believe it or not, I have been sick before when I was younger. I still remember how unpleasant it was.”

Something occurred to Albus. “Did your parents read to you?”

Gellert scoffed. “No, they considered themselves above such things. I was left into the care of our house-elf.”

“I’m sorry,” Albus said. Before his father had gone to Azkaban, he remembered him and his mother taking care of him when he was ill. It had made being sick somewhat more bearable than it would have been otherwise. He couldn’t imagine how young Gellert had felt, sick and lying alone in his room with only a house-elf for company.

Gellert waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t be. They don’t care for me; I don’t care for them. And that’s the end of it.”

Albus thought that wasn’t right but held his tongue. Gellert tended to get tetchy when they were discussing their families. All Albus knew was that his parents were pureblood, very wealthy and that they hadn’t had much care for their son except as the heir to their fortune.

“Shall I continue?” Gellert asked, holding out the book.

Albus assessed his condition and thought it unlikely that he would have another turn soon. Spelling the sick away, he settled back down under the covers.

“Please do.”

The rest of the day sped away in that fashion, with Gellert reading to him between bouts of sleep and nausea. Albus woke from his latest nap to find Gellert gone, and with a note taped onto the window. Shuffling across the room while wearing his sheets around him like a cape, Albus went to the window and picked up the note. Looking outside, he saw that the sun was slowly setting behind the trees, setting the town alight with an orange glow. On the windowsill, there was a small selection of cold cuts and bread on a tray. Albus’ stomach rumbled at the sight of it. Picking it up, he placed it on his night table, before sitting down to read the note Gellert had left him.

_I know you may not feel like you have much appetite but try and eat at least some of the food I’ve left you. I promise it will do you good. I’ll be back tomorrow with new books and a chess set._

_Yours, G.G._

Albus’ finger crossed over the word ‘yours’, a smile rising on his face. He lifted the note onto his face and inhaled, pressing a kiss against the paper. Catching himself, he blushed fiercely and put the note hastily away, feeling very silly. He dug into the food Gellert had left him, his face still warm and his stomach feeling funny, but this time not with nausea.

* * *

True to his word, Gellert returned early the next morning with a new set of books and a wizarding chess set. Albus was thankful to find out that the nausea seemed to have passed. Throwing up before Gellert yesterday had been humiliating enough. Instead, the nausea had been replaced by incessant sneezing that caused sparks to fly everywhere. Albus’ handkerchief soon became spotted with dark spots and holes caused by his sneezes.

Gellert did not say anything about the sneezing interrupting his reading, but he did hide a smile when Albus’ sheet, that he had wrapped around himself and taken to the chair by the window, almost caught fire and Albus had to frantically put it out. The smile might have had something to do with the fact that Albus was wearing nothing underneath expect a short nightshirt and colourful socks, but Albus tried not to think about that so he would not spend the rest of the day as red as his hair.

After noon, Gellert suggested that they switch to the chess set, a suggestion Albus was all too ready to take up. As pleasant as it was to listen to Gellert’s voice, Albus was starting to feel that his brain was slowly dying from the lack of stimulation.

“Have you ever been abroad?” Gellert asked in the middle of their third match. He wasn’t looking at Albus, but frowning at the board, seeming to be determined to win this time for Albus had won their first-round and the next one had ended in a draw. It was already close to the evening since both of the previous matches had lasted for a long time; much longer than Albus was used to. Gellert was a more challenging opponent than any he had had before.

“Can’t say that I have really. I did go to a few places as representative to Wizengamot and I went to Cairo when I was attending a conference, but I didn’t have time to look around. I’ve always wanted to travel properly, and I was planning to go on a Grand Tour with my friend Elphias, but then mother died and I had to come home.” The disappointment still stung, but less than it used to, for if Albus had gone on the Tour, he would have never met Gellert, and that would have been a far greater tragedy than missing the Tour had been. And besides, by the end of the summer, he would go with Gellert to find the Hallows, and that would undoubtedly lead them to many interesting places.

“Friend?” Gellert asked, and there was something in the inflexion of his voice that Albus could not identify. Albus looked at him. The set of his shoulders seemed too still and the unconcerned look on his face seemed almost too nonchalant.

“Yes, Elphias, I’ve mentioned him before,” Albus answered slowly, sensing that something was amiss with his friend’s mood, but not quite understanding what.

Almost immediately, the line of Gellert’s shoulders relaxed, and a smirk grew on his face. “Ah, yes, that pockmarked little friend of yours. He had a bad case of the dragon pox, didn’t he?”

“Yes, I must admit I’m relieved mine isn’t as bad as his.” Albus unconsciously lifted a hand on his cheek. He would like to think that he was not very vain, and he certainly did not hold the scars against Elphias, but the idea of being marred for life was not very appealing.

“Quite right. I would hate to see your pretty complexion ruined so,” Gellert replied in that careless fashion that made it hard for Albus to tell if he was being serious or not. He blushed nonetheless; ducking his head to hide it from Gellert.

There was a moment’s quiet before Gellert started talking again, and this time his voice carried a quiet seriousness in it that made Albus lift his face, “When we leave, and after we’ll find the Hallows, I’ll take you anywhere you like. Paris, Egypt, New York. You only have to name the place, and I’ll take you there.”

Albus’ blush deepened. “You don’t have to do that just for me. I know you’ve travelled a lot.”

Gellert opened his eyes and looked at him. The look in them was pure sincerity mixed in with something Albus did not dare to give a name to. A wind passed by, dancing in Gellert’s golden locks and tugging at his dark robes; together with his eyes and pale skin, it created an image so breath-taking Albus found it hard to do anything but stare. Albus' heart thudded in his chest.

Gellert pressed his palm against the glass between them, leaning in as close as he could and whispered, “I would do anything for you.”

Albus had lost his voice, so instead, he lowered his forehead against the glass and placed his palm on the spot where Gellert’s hand lay on the other side. The glass was cool against his heated forehead, and if he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine he could hear Gellert’s heartbeat, beating in tandem to his own.

* * *

Albus spent the next night tossing and turning, at turns floating with happiness and wondering if he hadn’t imagined the entire thing. Surely, Gellert could not have meant anything else? Surely, Albus could not be so mistaken?

By morning, Albus had convinced himself that it had been real, but his certainty started to fade when there was no sight of Gellert by mid-morning. Had Gellert gotten cold feet? Or had Albus misunderstood what was a mere gesture of friendship for something more profound? Had Gellert left once he realised the extent of Albus’ feelings for him? Or had something happened? Perhaps Gellert had fallen ill after all.

He spent a better part of the morning and well into the noon worried and driving himself mad with all the different possibilities. It was around lunchtime that Albus finally sat down and started writing a letter asking after Gellert. He had just finished when he heard the tell-tale scraping by his window, and sure enough, soon Gellert was sitting in the windowsill outside, cheerfully waving at him.

Albus rushed to the window and almost opened it before remembering himself.

“Where have you been?” he demanded, his worry making his tone angrier than he intended.

Gellert looked surprised for a moment before an understanding smirk grew on his face. “I’m sorry, my Aunt wanted me to help her with some chores. I came as quick as I could.” He paused before smirking. “Did you miss me?”

“No,” Albus said, and from the amused look on Gellert’s face, he knew it had been too quick.

Gellert laughed. Settling down on the sill, he brought out a few books and their chess set. “What will it be today then?”

Albus thought of ignoring him, but he knew that it would be a tad too childish. “A book, please,” Albus said, settling down on his chair and wrapping his blankets more comfortably around himself. Feeling brave, he added, “I like hearing your voice.”

“We have that in common,” Gellert answered.

Albus threw an amused look at him. Perhaps he was imagining it, but he thought Gellert’s cheeks looked rosier than usual.

Albus’ symptoms were much milder that day. He only sneezed a few times, and he felt as if his skin wasn’t as warm as yesterday. His nausea hadn’t come back, but his appetite was still almost non-existent. He could only take a few bites of the bread and stew Gellert had brought him before he felt he could eat no more. Gellert tutted but did not comment, opting to instead clean up after their lunch and bringing out the chess set again. The rest of the day passed in pleasant silence sprinkled with instructions for their pieces and occasional derailment into discussions of magical theory.

“Knight to E4.” Stifling a yawn, Albus watched from under his almost closed lids as the piece obediently crossed the chessboard. “I think I will soon be healthy again.”

Gellert hummed in acknowledgement, sweeping his eyes over the board to assess his options. “Pawn to F5.”

Albus frowned. “Are you sure about that?”

Gellert gave him an innocent smile, rising Albus’ suspicions.

He was still scowling at the chessboard, wondering what Gellert was playing at when Gellert asked him, “What is the first thing you’ll do when you’re better?”

“Eat proper food,” Albus answered absentmindedly, as he was trying to figure out Gellert’s strategy.

“The first thing I’ll do is to kiss you.”

Albus almost choked on air. He gaped at Gellert, certain he looked rather unattractive sitting there in his sheet, his face red as a tomato and his jaw slack. This was, of course, the moment that he let out a huge sneeze that resulted in actual flames coming out of his nostrils. Gellert laughed heartily, and Albus wished that either the earth would swallow him whole or that Gellert would fall off the windowsill.

Needless to say, Albus lost the match.

* * *

The next morning, Albus woke up, and for the first time in days, he felt normal. Tossing off the sheet, he took off his socks and checked for the rash between his toes. It was gone. Putting the back of his hand to his forehead, he tested his temperature. His skin was cool to the touch. A moment later, his stomach rumbled. Excited, Albus flew to the window and sprang it open, breathing in the fresh air.

Next, he tugged off his nightshirt and tossed it somewhere in his room, running to the bathroom. Stepping under the shower, he thoroughly scrubbed all trace of sickness from his skin. He dried himself off with a quick spell, brushed his teeth thoroughly - his face burning as he thought of why he was doing it - and combed his hair until it shined. Rushing back into his room, he rummaged his closet for the robes he thought suited him the best, despite feeling quite foolish about doing it. Gellert had already seen him covered in his own sick and still wanted to kiss him, Albus’ best robes were unlikely to do anything.

When he was done, he went to his window again, to look for Gellert. It seemed that it was still early, for the sunlight was faint and there was no sign of him or others on the road. Impatient, and heartily sick of being confined into his house, Albus decided to go to him instead. Rushing to the front door, he took the steps two at the time, almost landing on his face. Not caring, he twisted the lock and rushed out into the fresh morning air, still moist with dew, and started to rush down the path into the village. He passed by farmers and grocers on their way to work, all looking at him with wide eyes as he flew past them with a wide smile on his face. Albus did not care. It felt like a large bubble of happiness and anticipation was growing inside his chest, making him giddy with it. Soon, he arrived in front of Professor Bagshot’s cottage, breathing heavily and a stitch in his chest. Brushing back his hair, he knocked on the door.

When Gellert opened the door, a smile brightening his face as he saw Albus on the other side, Albus could not help himself and dragged him into a kiss, not caring who could see them.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> My Tumblr if you wanna come chat or send me a request: bloodtroth.tumblr.com


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